KIRKUS REVIEW

A woman recounts her adventures experimenting
with wigs as she wrestled with her own identity.

In this debut memoir, Harshman
writes candidly and humorously of her rather unusual attempt to reinvent
herself. As she recovered from depression and bipolar disorder, she impulsively
decided to buy a red wig, and she was heartened by all the attention she received
when she wore it. Out of curiosity and a desire for a new sense of purpose, she
began to try on different colored wigs and compare the reactions she received.
Each new wig brought on a new personality, complete with an exotic name (such
as “Kali Amsterdam” or “Nada Jolie”). Thanks to a Craigslist ad, Harshman
gained a sidekick, Bonnie, nicknamed “Agent Thorn,” who helped her keep records
and steer clear of trouble. The two women had some entertaining high jinks as
they navigated different parts of New York, but the heart of the story is
Harshman’s continuing search for self. She writes that she realized that she’d
lost her way and had fallen out of love with her longtime boyfriend, and the
wig experiment aided her process of remaking herself. The author’s idea is a highly
entertaining one, and her final revelation is predictable but still
meaningful. The story does start to get repetitive after a while, though;
for example, there are a few too many scenes in which Harshman states lines
such as, “I feel irreparably defective
since I’m not getting attention.” This point will be clear to readers from
the outset and didn’t need to be reiterated so often. The memoir nicely includes
some photos of Harshman in the different wigs, but color images would have been
better; after all, the wigs’ colors seem to have made all the difference (the Kindle edition of the
book contains color images). In
the end, however, what makes the strongest impression isn’t the author’s hair
color but her candor and bravery in confronting her mental illness.

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.